Podcasts in Education

I did have a good time last week in class making our podcasts. I do think it could be an exciting way for students to show what they have learned in the classroom. My SBTS just learned about the new Podcasting tool in Blackboard. She is going to teach me how to use it next week. She also pointed out that I have already created Podcasts without knowing it. I made a few tutorials for Office 2007 using the video capture feature in Snagit with my voice as the narrator. It was fun and my SBTS has posted them on the teacher resources Blackboard site for other staff members to watch. This was very easy and fun to create. I hope others can learn to use Snagit for learning purposes.

Trying to think about blogging

Hi Everyone! I have been trying to think how to use blogs or wiki's in my basic skills classroom for our lesson plan but I am stuck. Now that I only teach on class with most of my focus on SOLs, it is hard to get motivated. I spent the entire week putting lables on answer documents and counting test booklets. I can't wait until the March SOL is over. I am happy to have this new position but it can be tedious and lonely sometimes.

Wikis in Education

My first thought about using Wikis in education of course centered first around Wikipedia. My school has discouraged the use of Wikipedia as it does not always have accurate information. However, I like to use Wikipedia myself so why not let my students use it. I just think its important to teach them the limits of the information and to always verify that the information is correct before using it. Also, students should know that Wikipedia can be a valuable resource for directing them to other reliable sources. My school also has the use of a Wiki tool in Blackboard so I know of some teachers who have used it as a collaboration tool. That way students can work together on a project while not necessarily being together in the same room at the same time.

Blogging 101

This my first attempt at blogging outside of school. I helped a history teacher last year in my school use blogs with her students through blackboard. Students imagined they were traveling west and used the blog to keep a diary about what their experiences might have been like. The students really enjoyed it. If your school system uses blackboard, you should see if there is a blog tool. It is a great way to have students publish their own work while protecting them at the same time.